What's the Difference Between Necessities and Luxuries

To put it simply, a necessity is an essential need. It’s an indispensable item or service that you can’t live without.  Whereas a luxury on the other hand, is a ‘nice to have’, it’s not crucial. The problem is that people think they can’t live without certain items, or certain things. But they can.

The real necessities in life are things like food, water, clothing and shelter. You might think money is a necessity, but the truth is, it really isn’t. Money is a tool, nothing else. It allows you to obtain the necessities you need. You exchange it for something you can use.  The money itself is useless if it does not allow you to do that.

If you really challenge yourself to look at your own spending, it’s guaranteed there will be some items or expenditure, where you are torn about where to put it. If you have to think, then these will be luxury every time.

Let’s take a look at three items that are often confused as a necessity.

Is it a necessity, or is it a luxury? It’s a luxury! How do we know that? Because, people have survived for centuries without mobile phones, and still do. The first mobile phone wasn’t even invented until 1973. Now it’s rare not to see someone with a mobile phone. The problem here is, that it is now considered normal to have a monthly mobile phone contract and an iPhone worth £600 plus.

People with almost nothing to their name, will even skimp on real necessities like food to make sure they have a mobile phone. They have become a false essential item, a ‘necessity’ (not really) to stay connected. That's marketing for you.

The funny thing is we couldn’t be more disconnected. Constantly glued to mobile phone screens, instead of connecting with the people in front of us. Take the mobile phone away, you can still communicate with people

Is it a necessity, or is it a luxury? This one isn’t as black and white. By itself, a car is definitely a luxury.  However, if it is the only way to obtain a necessity, then you could say it is ‘a necessary means to a necessity’...without it, you may be in trouble.

You might really need a car, but do you really need a brand spanking new BMW? The minute you’re looking at taking out car finance, that car becomes a luxury. It’s something you cannot afford without the help of finance.

The costs of taking on car finance, and actually running a car can be significant, and can seriously eat into your income. Even when it comes to a car being ‘a necessary means to necessity’, it's still a very thin line between necessity and straight up luxury.

Is it a necessity, or is it a luxury? 100% a luxury! Neither one is essential for survival, in fact they are detrimental to your health. People who don’t smoke 20 cigarettes a day, or drink every night, will more than likely be in better health than those who do. These items are pretty much the opposite of a necessity!

If you are addicted to alcohol or cigarettes, you can seek free help and support from your doctor who can refer you on.

The above are just three examples of commonly misjudged luxuries that people claim they cannot live without, but the list goes on.

Businesses today are incredibly skilled at making you believe that a luxury item is a necessity. They influence you from something being a want (a luxury), to a need (a necessity).

Take the internet for example. The internet has only been around since the early eighties. Yet today, the minute the internet ‘goes down’ we go into a blind panic! How will I order my Deliveroo?! Gone are the days of picking up the phone, ordering your Chinese food and walking to collect it! We’ve all become so accustomed to having anything we want at our finger tips, we’ve been conditioned to feel it’s something we literally need to survive.

Think about how many times you’ve heard someone say: ‘I need a new washing machine, mine is broken’, ‘I need a new TV, mine is old’, ‘I need a new phone, mine has been playing up’. The key word here is need, not want. The truth is none of these are essential to survival. However, they are seen as a social norm that make life easier, or a source of entertainment. They are a want that people have become so dependent on, they genuinely feel like they need them.

The information in this article is considered to be true and correct at the date of publication.